Hunter: I became stronger even after I died.

Chapter 210 The Thing Seeked
In Moro's power system, weapons imbued with Nen play a crucial role.

This is because the amount of spiritual energy he can mobilize is quite limited in the "Starlight Condensation" state.

Previously, due to insufficient strength in his muscles and bones, he had to allocate a portion of his spiritual energy to strengthen his body in order to support the execution of techniques such as the Antelope Step.

This action further reduced the amount of manifest energy he could control.

A weapon with its own Nen and sufficient strength can effectively make up for this shortcoming.

This is the fundamental reason why he, who is more skilled with firearms, insisted on acquiring the Red Jade Bird Knife.

Looking back at the path of growth Moro chose, if a true beginner Nen user were to develop the "Starlight Condensation" ability...

Unless one can live in seclusion and cultivate their skills for several years, they will only perish before their abilities are fully developed.

The six months of Nen experience accumulated before his death and rebirth provided Morro with an important foundation for his activation.

Based on this foundation, cold weapons such as the Red Jade Bird Knife, which are imbued with spiritual energy, can increase his ability ceiling to a certain extent.

Therefore, Moro's primary condition for choosing a weapon is that the weapon must contain sufficiently strong Nen.

After a long search, Menchi finally found a weapon that she thought met her requirements.

In terms of psychic power, this weapon should be superior to the Crimson Jade Bird Blade.

As for the so-called trial...

It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look.

Moro decided to go to the Kingdom of Ryuo in person.

If the weapon that Menqi finds satisfies him, he will readily exchange it for the Red Jade Bird Knife.

However, before that, he will first absorb the spiritual energy from the Crimson Jade Bird Blade.

After all, for Menqi, whether or not the Red Jade Bird Blade possesses Nen, it makes no essential difference.

If you want to enhance the sharpness of the bird knife, you only need to use the "Zhou" technique on the bird knife.

After hanging up the call with Menchi, Moro immediately set off for the Kingdom of Ryuo.

If this journey goes smoothly, he will not only be able to obtain a better weapon, but also fill the second ring of life energy by absorbing the spiritual energy of the Red Jade Bird Blade.

at dusk.

Moro bid farewell to Kalista and Huashidou, and headed to the airport with Kurapika and Kalmod.

Because Ryūō-gū is a relatively closed island nation, its entry procedures are quite strict.

However, Kurapika's Hunter License can easily solve the problem of passing the level.

It's just a traffic problem...

If you want to go to the Land of Ryuo, the only option is by sea.

Therefore, they first had to take an airship to a coastal city, and then transfer to a ferry from the port of the coastal city to the port open to foreigners in the Kingdom of Ryuuki.

The inability to reach the Land of Sakura directly by airship also means that the journey will take much longer.

Late May.

A ferry docked at the port of Ryuoka Country.

Moro, Kurapika, and Kalmod disembarked from the ferry.

After them, several more groups of passengers disembarked from the ferry.

These people were clearly not ordinary tourists; two of them were even Nen users.

Since they went to such lengths to obtain entry permission from Ryuoka Country, they couldn't possibly be there simply for sightseeing.

However, Moro didn't care. After getting off the ferry, he took Kurapika and Kalto directly to a small shop called Fish Fresh in the port city.

Menchi had been waiting in the store for a long time.

As soon as Moro stepped into the store, he quickly scanned the area, as if searching for something.

"Stop looking, the chimera isn't here."

Menchi immediately saw that Moro was looking for the Chimera, and a slight smile appeared on her face. "Besides, this little shop can't hold it."

"Oh?"

Moro raised an eyebrow.

Although the restaurant isn't spacious, it's more than enough to accommodate twenty people.

If even a space like this can't accommodate a chimera, then...

The chimera is now at least the size of a truck.

"Aren't chimeras supposed to grow very slowly? How come they've grown so big in just a few months?"

Moro sat down next to Menchi and asked curiously.

Menchi's eyes sparkled with excitement: "Actually, I'm not really sure either. It might be related to its increased food intake afterward."

She gestured with her hands, "Ever since it started hunting on its own, its size has increased dramatically; it grows incredibly fast."

As she spoke, she suddenly smiled slyly: "Maybe... the Chimera has already forgotten about you."

"Forget it, then forget it."

Moro looked completely unconcerned.

"You're so heartless!"

Menqi rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If you keep going like this, you'll never find a boyfriend."

"That won't bother you."

Moro chuckled and shook his head, then took out the red jade boning knife and gently placed it on the dining table in front of Menchi.

The crisp sound of the crystalline blade hitting the platform made Menqi hold her breath for a moment.

Her gaze was fixed on the small, crystal-clear, reddish blade, and her voice trembled slightly: "This is... the boning knife from the Seven Chefs' Knives!"

As she spoke, she gently picked up the boning knife in her hand as if it were a priceless treasure, her eyes shining brightly.

"Moro, how come you have... um, you're not going to give it to me, are you?"

Menchi wanted to ask where the boning knife came from, but more than its origin, she wanted to know why Morrow had brought it out.

Moro nodded and said, "Yes, it's yours."

"Really? Really, really?"

Upon hearing this, Menchi was so excited that she leaned towards Moro, but Moro pushed her back by pressing a finger against her forehead.

"It's true."

"Woo..."

Mencius was touched. She stroked the boning knife lovingly and said, "Moro, if you can't find a partner in the future, you must tell me. I will definitely help you!"

"..."

Moro ignored Menchi's words, picked up the menu handed to him by the shop owner, glanced at it, and then handed it to Kurt next to him.

"Order whatever you want to eat."

"Ah."

Kurt glanced at a dish on the menu called pufferfish sashimi, which had a helpful note next to it that sashimi contains some neurotoxins and should be eaten in moderation.

"Moro".

"Ok?"

"Is it because she ate too much pufferfish?"

Kurt glanced at Menchi, who was rubbing the blade of the boning knife against her cheek. Morrow couldn't help but chuckle at this.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they left the small shop and set off for a bamboo forest called Guifenglin.

According to Menchi, deep within that bamboo forest, there is a shrine and a martial arts dojo.

The short sword she found, named "Prison," is enshrined in the shrine.

In order to obtain this short sword, she initially asked the owner of the shrine, who was also the owner of the martial arts dojo, for an exorbitant price, hoping to buy the short sword with money.

However, he was ruthlessly rejected by the owner of the martial arts dojo.

"Those guys at the dojo are so poor they're practically starving..."

On the way to the bamboo forest, Menqi shook her head and said:
"If I hadn't been there that day, those guys would have almost starved to death. So I don't understand why that old man refused to trade. He could have easily exchanged the dagger for a large sum of money, but he insisted on emphasizing some kind of trial."

"Did the old master you mentioned mention the trial content to you?"

Moro listened, then suddenly asked a question.

Menqi pouted and said, "No, that old man said the trial had nothing to do with women, and no matter how I asked, he wouldn't reveal a word more."

"Yeah."

Hearing Menchi's description, Moro felt that it matched some of his preconceived notions about the Kingdom of Ryuo.

However, the old curator's resolute attitude only made him more interested in the short sword called "Prison".

Guifeng Forest is two hundred kilometers away from the landing port, almost deep in the heart of Liuying Kingdom.

Along the way, Moro observed the national conditions of the Ryuo Kingdom with great interest.

The social state of this country seems to be frozen in some strange space-time gap, between the Edo period and the modern era.

Most of the buildings on both sides of the street retain the traditional wooden structure, but occasionally you can see a few Western-style buildings with glass windows.

The pedestrians were dressed in a wide variety of outfits, from warriors in light armor with long swords at their waists to modern office workers in suits with briefcases under their arms.

But more often, people are seen wearing white judo uniforms.

These ubiquitous martial arts attire silently proclaim the country's deep-rooted martial tradition.

As he left the town near the port, Moro even spotted a style of clothing that seemed quite familiar to him.

He thought about it carefully and realized that it was exactly the kind of clothing Hanzo wore in the original work.

If that person hadn't been bald, he would have almost mistaken him for Hanzo. No wonder he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Without lingering in the coastal town, Menqi rented a carriage and took everyone towards Guifeng Forest.

"There is a train in Liuying Kingdom, but the train cannot go directly to Guifeng Forest, where we are going, so a horse-drawn carriage is more convenient."

Mencius, holding the reins, offered a special explanation.

Moro and his companions arrived in Ryuoka Kingdom by ferry, so they didn't have high expectations for the country's transportation.

Having a horse-drawn carriage to ride in now is already quite good.

It was late at night when Moro and his party arrived at a town near Guifeng Forest.

The carriage was still a bit slow, and they traveled for about seven or eight hours.

Instead of rushing into Guifeng Forest, Moro and his group stayed overnight in the town and set off early the next morning to venture deeper into the bamboo forest.

Menchi was very familiar with this bamboo forest. She kept walking and soon arrived at the shrine she had mentioned.

What comes into view is a winding staircase made of moss-covered stone bricks.

At the middle of the steps stands a dilapidated torii gate.

On the red pillar with its peeling vermilion paint, there was a thick, grayish-white, dirty rope wrapped around it, one section of which was already tattered.

Moro's gaze passed through the vermilion torii gate, and the outline of the shrine in the distance was faintly visible in the morning mist, with some ancient buildings still faintly discernible in the surrounding area.

Everything he encountered in this country aligned quite well with some of his preconceived notions.

If there's anything else that's worth being curious about...

That is the existence of "thought," and I wonder how it has evolved in this country.

Just like the ancient Ganyu Kingdom that Moro had visited before.

Because of the existence of Nen, coupled with the influence of local culture, extraordinary professions such as barrier masters have emerged.

Furthermore, due to the Buddhist culture of ancient Ganyu, some monks with the power to deliver the souls of the dead naturally emerged; in fact, they were Nen users with the ability to exorcise spirits...

Even amidst this shift in extraordinary culture, the divine character, possessing unique abilities, also experienced a period of rise and fall.

Therefore, if no one defines the existence of the entire Nen system...

For countries with different cultures and histories, extraordinary powers like Nian will only be given different guises.

What Moro can confirm at present is that the ninjas of Ryuo Country regard the power of "Nen" as the foundation of ninjutsu.

Besides these, the only other extraordinary professions he could think of that fit the style of the Ryuo Kingdom were Onmyoji and Spirit Masters.

"Menqi, does this country have professions like Onmyoji or Spirit Masters?"

As they walked up the blue brick steps, Moro suddenly asked.

Menchi was surprised that Moro would suddenly ask about this, and replied, "Yes, they are called Onmyoji and Summoners, but they are actually just like those ninjas who claim to be proficient in ninjutsu, they are all Nen users."

"So how much do you know about Onmyoji and Spirit Summoners?"

Moro then asked.

He could tell that Menchi seemed to know a lot about Ryuo Country, which explained why she would throw out a "sushi" question in the Hunter Exam in the original work.

Kurapika and Kalluto were drawn to the topic and both turned their attention to Menchi, clearly interested in this Nen system that incorporated local characteristics.

Menqi raised her finger to her chin and said, "Although I have traveled to the Kingdom of Ryuo, I have never actually come into contact with Onmyoji or Spirit Masters; I have only heard of them."

She paused for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts.

"As far as I know, Onmyoji are skilled at controlling shikigami. Judging from the Nen system, they should mainly focus on materialization and manipulation. As for summoners..."

Menchi's tone became uncertain.
"I've only heard that they can communicate with the dead. In terms of the nature of their abilities, they might be closer to exorcists. But these are just things I've heard, and it's not necessarily true. As you know, there are many people in the community who use so-called supernatural phenomena to cheat and swindle."

"Well, but compared to Onmyoji and Summoners, ninjas seem to be more common."

Moro walked through the torii gate and glanced up at the tattered ropes connecting the pillars.

Menchi nodded and said, "Yes, there are many factions among the ninjas of Ryuo Country."

Moro nodded.

He thought of Hanzo, who came from the Hidden Cloud School, and also of the ninja he had killed in the forest.

Judging from their clothing, the two should not belong to the same style.

As they walked along the stone-paved path, they came across a somewhat dilapidated shrine.

The stone lanterns standing in front of the shrine's main hall are covered in moss, and cracks can still be seen in them.

The shimenawa (sacred rope) hanging from the top of the shrine's main hall was only one-third of its original length.

The money box under the shimenawa rope had a large hole torn in it, and there were many insect damage marks on the wooden pillars on both sides.

This appears to be a forgotten shrine.

But Moreau paid little attention to the marks left by time, instead staring intently at the shadows spilling out from the slightly open temple doors.

he felt...

The aura of thoughts after death.

(End of this chapter)